


Waking Up

by Crazy_luna



Series: Owari Magica [80]
Category: Owari Magica
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:02:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26810344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_luna/pseuds/Crazy_luna
Summary: Percy helps Salem out in the sanctuary
Relationships: Percival "Percy" Richards & Salem Morson
Series: Owari Magica [80]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815574





	Waking Up

**Author's Note:**

> 2 exp, 1 potion, and 1380 points!

Salem was in the store room pulling out all the chemicals needed to make poisons and explosions. She felt like she was low on those right now. She wan't but she had to be doing something useful. Von had been having problems with phantom pains all night so she was at home passed out. Meaning Salem could get as much work done for Vondila to enchant later. Things had become a lot harder for Salem since her twin lost her arm. She worried about too much now. Her only reprieve was getting coffee at her favourite cafe. Which she finished about an hour ago.

Percy was in a better mood than he knew what to do with. Usually, when he felt like this, he'd play some games or get ice cream, but he wanted to check in on his favorite Morson sibling. He knocked on the door as he entered. "Heyo- anyone in here?"

Salem heard a voice. Male. Percy or Luis. Most likely Percy though. "I'm in here!" She called from the store room. She walked out with her stack of boxes that blocked her view.

Percy headed to Salem, snagging the top half of boxes from her and stepping back. "Hey boss, got anything you need some help with today? I've got some time." He flashed her a smile. "And I'm finally caught up on homework. Somehow, I'm passing."

Salem smiled at Percy and was glad he took the boxes. "Some help would be great! I'm making poisons, explosives, quick blades, and healing kiss balm." She explained. It was a lot todo. "In these boxes are all the chemicals for poisons and explosives. I just need to grab the rest for blades and balm. Could you unpack these?" She sat her boxes down. "Just don't open any bottles yet. It's all shelf stable but things are toxic still." She turned back and headed into the store room to grab the rest of the boxes and two sets of PPE.

Percy did have a second's pause at the mention of kisses, but set his boxes down next to hers, opening up the top one."Yeah, of course. You're always so busy, it's the least I can do."

Salem stuck some goggles on and grabbed a mask and slipped it around her face but lowered it so it was resting under her nose. She then grabbed a second pair of each and gloves. She grabbed the last two boxes and left the store room. She sat the mask, goggles and gloves down for Percy then put on her own gloves. "Safety." She commented and started unpacking the blades and hollow handles. A mix needed to be put into the handles then add the blades. The balm needed to be mixed and divided up. And the explosives and poison needed to be mixed. She went over the list in her head of things. One at a time though. "How are you with chemistry?"

Percy slipped the mask and goggles on, smiling behind them as he snaps the gloves on. "Between people? Great. With things? Terrible. Worst subject."

Salem laughed. "Okay I won't get you to handle the poison and explosives then. I like living." She picked up the mix that needed to be set in the blade handles. "Put this much-" She picked up a tablespoon. "-in one of these." Set down the mix and spoon to pick up the handle and blade. "And then shove this in." She gestured with the blade. "It will lock and it will be done. Got it?"

Percy nodded and settled in at the seat. "Same, I don't really plan on dying. I'm too pretty." He flashed her a look before he got started. "So what are you up to, lately?"

Salem started setting up the flasks she needed to mix the poison and the containers that the final mix will sit in. "I've been going through all of Von's clothes and altering them to make them easier to put on one handed. And when not that here." She started to measure out a white liquid into a measuring cup. "What about you pretty boy?"

Percy made sure that he was measuring the mix carefully as he went. He'd seen what an improper measurement did to banana bread... He grimaced as he thought about it. But he took care not to let that be his whole response to the older girl. "Well, I've been doing a lot. Homework, homework, homework. Family stuff. Sierra stuff. Baking? We've been making cakes a lot, recently. And Luis is back, so I think... at some point things will be familiar again. That's what the goal is, right?"

Salem nodded and added the liquid to the beaker. "If that's what you want." She started to measure out a clear liquid. Next it was about half of the white liquid. "Have you thought about being a career magi?" She didn't like telling them to stop school but not all magi finished and she understood that. So she supported those that became career magi.

Percy thought about it for a minute. He'd never heard the term before, but something about it clicked. "What is that- a career magi? Like, that's their job?"

Salem poured the clear liquid in and started adding table spoons of a red powder. "Right only Von is a career. A career magi is a magi that drops out of school or has finished and thats what they do. Most used to have a part time job on the side but when I showed up I started paying career magi for any help in the store or for any grief seed they brought me." She explained. "Von doesn't get payed cause she's my twin but others will if they so choose to become career magi."

His eyes lit up. He didn't like feeling like a burden, which the 'accepting money' part might make him feel weird about for atleast a while, but it felt... alluring. To get to leave or finish school early, and stick to being a magi? He was already good at it, and he liked the feeling. Plus getting to help the girls... He nodded slowly. "I like that a lot. I guess I never planned where life would go, after high school. I accepted that we became witches and I didn't worry about the dots after that. There's a whole map, though, isn't there? Just filled with dots to cross, so long as I keep my head on my shoulders and don't get overwhelmed. I... I'll think about it. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts about it?"

Salem picked up the flask and started to swirl it to mix everything. "I'm on the fence about it. I get why some do it. School is a huge stresser but it can be important. I'm not a magi so this is something I try not to have a say in. I just help out financially." The mixture started turning blue and an odd smell was coming from it. "And I know some feel bad about me paying them but I have limitless money." She added that was the part she had trouble with in the past for some magi. She stopped mixing and started to divide the mixture into glass tubes.

Percy couldn't deny the "endless money" comment. It made his nerves quiet down. "Yeah, definitely. What do you not like about it?"

Salem finished filling the tubes. "I guess it's more todo with my hope that this can be outlived." She didn't look at Percy. "It's dumb I know. But I don't want to lose Von." Her voice got softer as she went.

Percy paused to make sure the next handle was clean before he added the mix. "I don't want you to lose her either. Have... have you thought about what we talked about last time?"

Salem chewed her lip. "Yes but I'm not sure if it could work. What if it causes a witch that destroys everything? Or all magi are just killed to free them?" She started capping the tubes with corks.

"We don't know that it will happen. Do you talk to the incubators at all?" Percy kept working with the blades, measuring carefully before putting the mix inside.

"They avoid me without others there. I killed one of their bodies by throwing a book at Flow and since then they avoid me alone." She explained. "You could ask them." She started on the next batch of poison.

"I can talk to Eb. I'm not sure Flow knows me, or if she does it's not personally. And... poor Flow, honestly. They're so cute, I couldn't hurt them if I tried."

Salem shrugged. "They're cute so teens will be less likely to question things and trust them. They are emotionless monsters." She really didn't like the incubators.

"Emotionless monsters that eat used erasers and curl up next to your head when you're crying, and that pretty much saved my life. I... I won't begrudge you, but I care about them."

"To each their own." Salem commented. "How's the blades coming along?" She didn't want to talk about the rats anymore. She understood being grateful but they lied to everyone.

Percy nodded. "I think they're alright so far. I'm keeping it even and tight?" He showed her the current one, the twelve to his left neat and orderly.

Salem nodded. "They look perfect." She finished the batch of poison and bottled it up. "Have you talked to Chara yet?"

"I haven't yet. I talked to Ana first-" He laughed and scratched at the bandage over his nose, pulling his hood down. He'd halfway been trying to hide it, even with his good mood from the kiss. It was a miracle that Bella hadn't noticed... "And I'm going to try looking for Chara tomorrow. She needs to know, and I don't want her to be the last one on the list, you know?"

"Ya I get you. I've been trying to get a hold of Avril for a while now no luck yet." Salem noticed the bandage, had she been so focused on everything else she hadn't noticed he was hurt. "What happened? I have some left over lotion if you want."

"It's fine! It's already healed, I'm just kind of embarrassed. I don't want my parents to see it yet." Percy laughed again and shook his head. "Do you... think something happened to her?"

"So it scarred? Sorry to hear that." Salem shrugged. "I have no idea. I'll ask the others if they've heard from her."

Percy shrugged. "Hey, a scar isn't the worst thing in the world. Von has them. Ana has one. Belladonna has them. I could do a lot worse, right?" He finished the last dagger in front of him. "What next?"

Salem grabbed a jar of balm. "This needs to be mixed with-" She picked up a container of greenish liquid. "-this and the divided into those." She points at the small lip balm containers. She went back and started measuring out powders. "Von has scars due to three witches and one magi. Ana got her scar because she wouldn't listen to fall back. And the bitch got her scars from witches as well. How did you get yours?" There was pure malice behind her saying bitch in reference to Belladona.

Percy winced. He didn't want to hear that kind of talk and harsh his mellow... but he didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to upset her. He started mixing the liquid and balm together carefully. "Well, uh, a second fist fight with Ana?"

Salem stopped and blinked at Percy. "Why?" She was confused, she thought they were friends.

"It's a stress relief thing. If either of us are upset, I suggest we fight. No holding back. And... well, we didn't realize it got that far. I think I kinda spooked her, and I feel bad."

Salem shook her head and returned to her work. "There are safer stress relief options out there."

"Safer, yes. Effective? No. I can only play so many video games and sit around my house so long and wander around without sleeping while my head is buzzing for so many nights. Eventually things crash down and I need something else. So, fighting Ana. She won both times, if it matters." He shrugged and started doling out the balm mixture into the containers. He tried to make sure they were even...

Salem started dividing the powder mixture into small containers. "Just be careful and maybe next time have Von, Nessa or myself there to watch over just in case." Once all the powder was divided she started mixing liquid.

He nodded. "Sure. I'm sure that would go well." He tried not to sound sarcastic. Just because it wasn't healthy, didn't mean it didn't help. On the other hand... He did wonder how that would go if Vanessa were there. And he'd been meaning to check in on Von again... "How is Von doing?"

Salem shrugged as she finished mixing the liquid. "She's been dealing with phantom pains a lot. It's like her arm still hurts but its not there anymore." She explained. "Step back a bit." She put a drop of liquid into an eye drop and dropped it onto the smallest amount of powder. A small explosion happened right on the table. It was more of a flash then anything.

He raised his eyebrows at the explosion. "Was that supposed to happen? And... do you think she's okay?"

"Yes I'm making explosives. I wanna make sure the mix is right." She started dividing the liquid into the other half of the containers. "I googled it and it's normal. It takes a long time for the brain to stop trying to figure out the arm is there."

He nodded. "I meant the explosives. Phantom pains sound normal. And... she is doing her best, anyways. Maybe I could drop by another day and see if there's anything she needs to help out, or she could teach me more about the career magi thing? I do want to know more, and she's got a good handle on it."

Salem nodded. "That would be good. She's been having problems with her non-magic based attacks she told me. Not used to one arm." Once she was done filling everything she snapped a divider in and closed the whole container up. One side had powder, the other had liquid. Press it together and throw and you get an explosive.

Percy nodded and settled back into his own task. "Cool. I've been doing a lot of sparring lately, I like it. Helping people out, you know?"

"That's good, the stronger you are the easier a witch will be." Once Salem had finished closing the containers she started to clean up her area.

"And the less likely they will be to fall, right? That's the goal too." He closed up the last of the balms. "Making sure everything's prim and smooth."

"That's always the plan." Salem took off her goggles and mask. "Okay 20 poisons, 15 explosives, 15 quick blades and 15 healing kiss balms." She tallied up.

Percy nodded. "I think that's about right. Is it enough for today?"

Salem smiled at him. "It's perfect thank you."

Percy bumped her hip with his own. "Anything else I can help you with, boss?"

Salem laughed. "Help me clean up that would be great." If she were to leave this out then someone could mess with it and b she would just have to clean it up tomorrow on her own.

Percy nodded and started packing the boxes back up, hoping it was as neat as she'd left it. "You wanted to teach Luis how to do this, right?"

"Yeah, as long as he wants to learn. He seemed like he wanted to help and besides making a contract this is the best way to help." Salem started to put everything back in the boxes. She would need to buy new materials now but that was okay.

"That makes sense. If there were other people close to this, would you teach them too?" He glanced over his shoulder at her.

"If they were willing to learn of course." Salem picked up the now packed up boxes and started making her way into the store room. "I will say it's not for everyone, there's blood, lots of blood and having to watch people die."

Percy followed with his own stack of boxes, but respected her space and didn't enter the store room, waiting at the doorway to hand them to her instead. "Of course. It's hard, but only as hard as being a magi is. Longer life expectancy, though, right?"

Salem put the boxes away. "Yeah I don't have to worry about despair and grief but that doesn't mean I don't have trauma." She turned and took the boxes from Percy.

"Do you have a therapist? It might help, with all this." He glanced around the room to prove his point.

Salem laughed. "Yeah I see one. They don't know about magi but it helps anyways." She smiled softly. She wished so much that she had a therapist that knew to talk to but she didn't.

Percy nodded. "I'm sorry there's not more I can do. I'm sure you're tired of teenagers telling you what to do, anyways. I just... worry about you both."

Salem smiled. "It's okay Percy. I'm glad you care." She sat her arm on his shoulder.

He wrapped an arm around her back and gave her a half-hug. "Do you think any of this is going to end well?"

Salem half-hugged him back. "All we can do is hope." She said.

He nodded. "I think so. Well, I'm gonna head out. See you and Von later this week, right?" He pulled back slowly.

"Right." Salem pulled back all the way and smiled. All she had was hope. She hoped Von could out live this. She hoped that they could deal with Belladona with as little loss as possible. She hoped they could all be happy. "Be safe and have a good day."

"You too, boss." He waved as he walked down the hallway, putting his hands into his pockets and thinking. He felt a bit sobered up. Not as in puppy-love. He wasn't sure where his heart was right now, anyways. 


End file.
